Restless Devotion
by DarkMignonette
Summary: They were icons of petty arguments and clashing personalities; one rebellious, the other angelic, and both headstrong. But too much faith and friendship mixed with pain could only end in one thing. YusukexKeiko// One-shot series, written for 50scenes
1. Overdrive

This is done for another challenge, 50 scenes on livejournal. This time I'll put them together in one story on here, instead of putting each segment into individual one-shots, like I did before. Each chapter is based on a given theme, but they don't necessarily connect other than with the Yusuke/Keiko subject. Genres will vary, I'll probably do some angst later on.

There will be fifty of these if I can finish! Hope you don't mind a mega dose of this pairing! XD Each chapter won't be really long though.

I don't mean to spam the Yusuke/Keiko section with my stories, I really don't. But all you readers out there should write for them if you want! Yu/Kei needs more support. :)

Ah anyway I hope you enjoy.

_Theme: Overdrive_

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She had an exam tomorrow.

Of course she had studied ahead of time, going straight home after school to prepare for the test that loomed over the horizon like her own personal doomsday. The fate of her academic success dangled in the fickle hands of luck, and she hoped her keen intelligence would pull her through in the end.

So she studied and studied and studied.

Keiko stared down at the book, refusing to daydream even as her eyesight smeared the black text into one big blur.

Okay. Maybe a break wouldn't hurt.

Keiko let out a long sigh and leaned back in her chair, idly twisting the yellow knot on her uniform. She never minded extra bookwork and she studied often, but really, all this at once was exhausting.

She slid up from her seat and winced at the ache in her shoulders. Sunlight and blue sky peeked into her window and beckoned her to come outside and forget the stress of some silly test.

Unfortunately she couldn't shrug it off so easily. Her high grades hadn't earned themselves.

Keiko walked downstairs, determined to get a drink of water and nothing else. Deep as she was in goal overdrive mode, she knew her time limit and refused to become distracted.

But fate just wasn't on her side today.

Yusuke Urameshi stood at the bottom of the staircase, scruffy as always with his bruised face and slicked black hair. His lips inched upwards into a devious grin when she met his gaze.

"Don't you have anything better to do then lock yourself up and read those stupid textbooks?" he said. "You're gonna pass the test, you always do, damn."

She scowled at his mocking tone. "Don't you have anything better to do then harass me?" she fussed. "What're you doing here anyway?"

"Oh that's not harassment." His smirk grew. "Harassment is more like-"

"If you grope me I swear…." she crossed her arms. "I'm not in the mood for your crap today."

"You're never in the mood for anything." He rolled his eyes then proceeded to stick his tongue out at her, something he hadn't done in ages. "Except for schoool, like the teacher's pet you are!"

"Better than a delinquent!"

He scoffed. "Whatever you say. Delinquents have more fun."

He was being awfully cheeky. Keiko wondered if he had just won a fight with some rowdy thug. That was usually the case when he came around all beat up and cheerful, like a big bad allycat who had defended his turf.

Yusuke crossed his arms, mimicking Keiko's body posture. Her curious look gave him the urge to fidget; her thoughts were obviously on him and he had no idea what she was thinking. It made him slightly uncomfortable. Not that he'd ever let her know that, though.

Her expression switched to one of concern. "Do you need some help? Your face is bleeding." She had bought a brand new first aid kit for one reason: Yusuke. He never admitted his injuries, but she could always drag him upstairs and clean up his cuts and bruises whether he liked it or not.

He rolled his eyes again. "I'm fine, _mother._"

"Shut up!" she snapped. After a moment she added: "And I wouldn't be your mother for all the world, by the way. The mere thought of living with you gives me a headache."

He made a twisted face. "I wouldn't wanna live with you either, that's pretty gross. But…" he smirked, a devilish glint in his eyes. "Maybe then I could get under that skirt of yours!"

"THAT'S IT!"

Keiko let out a frustrated shriek.

And Yusuke ran for his life, laughing as flying objects whizzed past his head.

Keiko forgot all about the exam.


	2. Kiss

This one is abit fluffier than the last, but I tried not to go overboard. Hope you enjoy.

_Theme: Kiss_

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She refused to give into his irritated whining, and no amount of 'sorrys' would change her mind. He owed her. There was no way he could talk his way out of it. Besides Keiko wasn't an idiot; she knew Yusuke apologized only so she'd let him run off to a fight or to a Pachinko parlor in some dark corner of Tokyo.

That punk ditched her at the movies last week. He left her standing in front of the cinema, alone, hurt, and puzzled among flocks of teenagers who leered at her in pity. Yusuke forgot her. For the third time in about two months.

So she tried again. Keiko chose the movie, partly because she didn't want to sit through another martial arts film and partly because she wanted revenge.

Not the brightest idea she ever had. He expressed his loud distaste of the foreign romance movie, make gagging sounds whenever someone kissed, and nearly got the both of them thrown out of the place.

Disasters aside, they walked together, Yusuke complaining but present at her side.

They weren't going anywhere specific, they followed the road ahead of them, the night kept at bay by glittering city lights and the soft sound of rain. Keiko tried to stay away from shady neighborhoods, but potential threats avoided Yusuke altogether and so the city stretched out to them like an endless path. She would call the atmosphere romantic, had it been anyone but them. Anyone but them; Keiko fought to keep a smile on her face while Yusuke continued to scowl, oblivious to the mood of their surroundings.

His frown deepened and he kicked a pebble near his shoe. "I didn't understand what the hell they were saying!"

Keiko turned and gave him a sharp glare. His foul mood was contagious, and what she wanted to be a fun evening had been squashed by his antics. "Did you read the subtitles?"

"I don't like to read."

She rolled her eyes. "I know, it's too much effort for you read the subtitles."

"It wouldn't have mattered!" he scoffed, tossing his head back in a cocky gesture. His damp hair wilted over his forehead as the gel surrendered to the rain. "It was absolute crap. _'I love you'_ this and_ 'I love you'_ that and people smacking their faces together."

"How do you know? You didn't read the subtitles!"

Keiko's short hair clung to her neck and her skirt clung to her legs, and she was becoming very, very irritated. "It wasn't that bad anyway!"

"You need a life Keiko, if you think that shit was good." he shrugged. "But whatever. I don't know how you could even hear it over all those squealing girls. You were the only female there that acted halfway sane, and that's sayin something."

"Gee, thanks." she grumbled.

"I can't believe women think guys act like that." He held his hands together, dramatically looking up towards the sky. His voice jumped a notch and he spoke in bad, clumsy English: "Oh Susy I loooove you!"

She paused and sent him a baffled look, her eyebrows disappearing behind her brown bangs. She wondered if that was an attempt to make her laugh; or if he had really lost his mind. Keiko cracked a smile despite herself. "Idiot."

He grinned. "Nobody I know would say anything like that. And that one chick in the movie died didn't she? Or came back? And then that guy said something like, _'oh my love you look so lovely!!' _which was a complete lie because that girl was ugly as hell."

"No she wasn't!" Keiko slapped him lightly on the shoulder, laughing. "She was pretty!"

"She was ugly. She was a dyed blond with a big mole on her face. That doesn't do anything for me, y'know."

"Uh no, I don't know." she said idly, wary on where the conversation was headed. "Yusuke do I have to argue with you on everything?"

The rain picked up and sent droplets flying down to the pavement. Keiko held out a hand to catch them. A multi-colored array of light glittered across the street, reflected in the shallow pools of rainwater. Tall buildings reached for the night sky and formed a bright backdrop while clouds hid the moon.

Yusuke didn't flinch even as the water pelted him in the shoulder and soaked through his green uniform. He smiled, looking very unlike his usual self with his dark hair hanging naturally over his face. "Hey you wouldn't argue with me so much if I was like those stupid movies guys, I bet."

"Oh really? I don't think so."

"Lemme prove it then!"

Keiko let out a startled squeak as Yusuke pulled her to him and swung an arm around her back. Her stomach seemed to leap up into her throat, unsure and surprised at their sudden proximity. She fumbled for words. "..What're you doing?"

"Nothing." he said. She wrapped her arms around his neck in surprise when he leaned forward and dipped her down towards the pavement, her hair falling behind her shoulders. His bangs tickled her nose. "It's so much fun to mess with you!" he chucked.

"Yusuke, you'd better not be pulling some trick!" she chewed her lip. "I don't know what you're up to."

He grinned like the mischievous delinquent he was, sometimes cocky, sometimes unhappy, but always fearless. Keiko peered straight into this gaze. His eyes were that deep chocolate color, with light brown specks dotting the center like tiny pebbles. That same never ending intensity burned behind them, the familiarity of those eyes recalling old summertime memories from her childhood. She couldn't help but grin. His good moods were contagious too.

"Quit goofing around Yusuke."

She leaned foreword and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Those brown eyes widened a couple fractions and she noticed his look of panic.

She pulled back only to see him gazing at her with a baffled expression, the lights shining across the angles of his smooth cheeks and wide shoulders. Raindrops shined in her own hair like a blaze of tiny stars. Yusuke still held her gracefully against him, her hands still around his neck, their faces parted by a painful distance.

The tone of the atmosphere finally dawned on them and a wave of uneasiness swept through the air. A bright red blush erupted on Keiko's cheeks.

Yusuke had only one reaction.

He dropped her.

She landed on her behind, the street water running up her legs. "Hey! What'd you do that for?"

He regained his senses and helped her up. "Aha, sorry..I um...you okay?"

She smiled, trying to dissipate the awkwardness of the situation. "I'm fine."

Yusuke shoved his hands in his pockets. "So I guess..I'll walk you home?"

She laughed. "Yeah. I'd like that."


	3. Sacrifice

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A lone figure of a girl stood atop a sloping embankment. The sun sank down behind her shoulders, behind the suburban backdrop, leaving the sky a careless splash of orange and red; colors of sunset, familiar colors of the girl's childhood. Soft nostalgia wavered behind her brown eyes.

Keiko stared down at the modest river before her, the vibrant shades of the water doing nothing to change her pensive expression. Her body stood rigid against the emotional chains that pulled her towards the embankment, refusing to move even as certain memories flashed through her vision and threatened her with tears.

She remained rooted to the spot for a while, seeming to resent the peaceful scenery until at last she slid down the hill, the grass prickling her ankles.

She had seen this backdrop in her dreams many times the past few weeks, and so avoided this place like a cursed zone. The final reality of it slapped her in the face and stung her in the chest; right where she kept the memories of that stupid boy. The atmosphere would have been beautiful, had he not tainted it with such a bittersweet tone that she couldn't shake still. She had been left behind.

He reasoned with her before he said his last _sayonara_ and before he walked out into the night like a fleeting shadow. In the end Keiko could do nothing but send meaningful glances at his back. He didn't turn around once. He never kept his promise to light up shady circumstances when she fumbled around in the dark. She hadn't understood anything.

Yusuke couldn't take her with him anymore. She couldn't help him anymore, he had to find his purpose on his own. It wasn't his fault. She knew that. He had no choice but to make her his sacrifice.

Keiko picked up a rock and hurled it at the river.

She did this repeatedly until an frustrated cry flew from her lips.

"Yusuke you _jerk!_ Is that all there is to this? Well I don't need you then, you jerk! I don't need you!"

She imagined his reflection grinning at her from the waters surface.

She shattered the image with the biggest rock she could find.


	4. Insomnia

This one is alittle darker than the rest, hope you all don't mind! Everything can't be fluff all the time right? Thanks for your feedback, whether it's a review, a favorite, or a watch, it's still appreciated. And hopefully you'll see more of these soon, since I'll have more free time in a couple of weeks. Anyway enjoy!

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She couldn't sleep.

Her eyes stung from lack of rest and her lids felt as if they were made of heavy stone. They threatened to overcome her weary mind and send her to a place of fitful dreams, her whole body aching for slumber.

She lifted her head and gazed at the arm thrown lazily across her bare torso. The limb was masculine and tan, with markings strewn across the skin like black bruises.

But they weren't bruises. Not at all. She wasn't sure what they were.

He muttered something incoherent and crept closer to her under the sheets. His eyes were shut tight, not that she could see them under the mass of black hair that covered his face. She only _felt _that he wasn't aware and conscious, she didn't sense any other alert human in the room. She remained the only one.

The knot in her stomach instantly tightened when he shoved his face in the crook of her neck. His broad shoulders overpowered hers, like a hummingbird caught in the clutches of a falcon.

He nipped the soft skin there. The gesture gripped her heart with fear while lighting a pleasurable fire in the pit of her stomach, in the very blood of her veins.

She knew he would never intentionally harm her. But she couldn't rest easy on faith alone; she was lying in bed, utterly defenseless, with one of the most powerful youkai in the world; maybe _the _most powerful youkai in the world. He was half man eating, cannibalistic demon. Raw instinct took control while he slept.

Sharp fangs grazed her shoulder. She clenched her teeth, placing a hand over her mouth to keep herself from crying out.

Her heart hammered in her chest like a frantic animal.

"Get..._off_..."

She half-heartedly shoved him away. But the most she got out of him was a guttural growl that send chills down her flesh.

He crushed his mouth against her own, the sudden force slamming her head against the wooden headboard.

She could wake him, if he was truly asleep at all, and warn him of his midnight antics. But she knew very well that the next night would be the same.

And she could never sleep knowing such an inhuman nature hovered over her when she dared to close her eyes.

Insomnia was her new best friend.


End file.
